St. Louis Pride Says Anheuser-Busch Ended Sponsorship—As Corporate Support For LGBTQ Pride Celebrations Dwindles

Topline

Organizers behind St. Louis Pride said Tuesday alcoholic beverage company Anheuser-Busch ended more than 30 years of sponsorship of its Pride celebrations, as LGBTQ organizations in New York, San Francisco and more cities say corporate support has dwindled and left them scrambling to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Key Facts

Why Are Companies Withdrawing Support For Pride?

Several Pride organizations told Forbes corporate sponsors have either dropped out of, or reduced financial support for, Pride celebrations this year because of political and economic pressure—as Trump targets DEI across the federal government and corporations walk back DEI-related policies. “The current political and economic climate has had a significant impact on sponsorship levels from corporations across a variety of sectors,” Pride Houston’s board of directors told Forbes. NYC Pride’s Piedmont told Forbes the reduction in corporate support is because of the “volatile political environment.” San Francisco Pride’s Ford told SFGATE these companies backed out of supporting its 2025 Pride celebrations citing financial constraints, but Ford said she “interpreted that companies are making decisions that at this time it’s not good to be sponsoring Pride.” Multiple sponsors appeared to have been removed from NYC Pride’s sponsor webpage earlier this year, according to Internet Archive captures, including Target, which was listed as a platinum sponsor, the highest tier of sponsorship. It’s unclear whether these companies withdrew support, and Piedmont told Forbes some partner agreements for this year are still being finalized.

Surprising Fact

Days after Target announced in January it would walk back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the Minnesota-based Twin Cities Pride severed ties with Target, which had previously been a corporate sponsor. Organizers crowdfunded to raise the $50,000 it lost by splitting from Target, which it far exceeded, raising more than $103,000.

Key Background

Dwindling support for Pride comes amid a wave of backlash targeting DEI across the federal government and corporate America. Many companies, including Meta, Amazon and Google, have walked back diversity goals and other DEI-related programs in recent months. Some companies also appeared to pull back on public support for Pride last year after conservative boycotts targeted various companies, including Bud Light, Target and Nike, over their outreach to the LGBTQ community.

Further Reading

Victoria’s Secret Tweaks DEI Language To ‘Inclusion And Belonging’: Here Are All The Companies Rolling Back DEI Programs (Forbes)

Companies Blasted For Supporting LGBTQ Pride Last Year—Like Nike And Target—Appear To Pull Back In 2024 (Forbes)

In 'very abnormal' development, longtime sponsors bail on San Francisco Pride (SFGATE)